Putin ordered to build Baltic nuclear power plant

The government of Russia has approved construction of Baltic nuclear power plant at the site near the town of Neman.

Vladimir Putin has signed a decree on construction of Baltic nuclear power plant. The foundation stone laying ceremony of “the top construction of the century” is planned for February 25.

In this connection the region is to be visited by Russian Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov and Director General of the State Atomic Energy Corporation "Rosatom" Sergei Kirienko. Besides, the Governor of Kaliningrad region Georgy Boos is to take part in the ceremony as well, Kaliningrad.ru informs.

The site for the new nuclear power plant has been already chosen. The construction is to start at about 15 km from Neman. The first digging work is to start at the construction site in late February, almost immediately after the foundation stone laying ceremony. The project of Kaliningrad nuclear power plant includes construction of two power units. The first reactor is planned to be operational by 2016. However, as said by management of RAO Unified Energy Systems of Russia, the nuclear power plant may start its work earlier.

The Baltic nuclear power plant is built on order of the Russian government of September 25, 2009. Its prototype is Leningrad nuclear power plant-2. The expected useful life of Baltic Nuclear Power Plant is to be 50 years, and 60 years for major equipment.

Earlier Energy Minster of Lithuania Arvydas Sekmokas said that statements of Russia about its plans to build a new nuclear power plant in Kaliningrad region cause concerns in Lithuania, as it is not clear how the energy would be sold, ru.DELFI.lt informed.

The minister underlined that the region won’t use so much energy as the new nuclear power plant is to produce, but there are no such powerful energy bridges to transmit energy to other places.

In summer ecologists of the Russian movement “Ekozashchita” published a map of supposed places where Baltic NPP could be constructed in Kaliningrad region, according to which the nuclear power plant was to appear 10 km from Lithuania. According to estimation of the experts of the movement, the site had been chosen wrongly: ground waters are too close to surface, and an air corridor lies over them, while the safety zone is also situated at the territory of Lithuania.